Is sleeping less than 6 hours a night harmful to your health?

Aging skin

Lack of sleep is the leading cause of skin aging. Research shows that people with poor sleep quality or insufficient sleep have many signs of skin aging such as wrinkles, crow's feet, dull skin, dark circles, redness, puffiness, and sagging skin at the corners of the mouth.

Research by scientists in Stockholm, Sweden, also shows that people who do not get enough sleep are less satisfied with their appearance than those who get enough sleep.

Illustration photo. (Photo source: Internet)

Visceral fat accumulation

Lack of sleep disrupts hormones, increasing visceral fat storage. When you don't get enough sleep, the hunger-regulating hormone leptin increases and the satiety hormone ghrelin decreases, causing you to constantly crave food. Consuming too many calories causes weight gain and increases visceral fat storage.

Lack of sleep causes fatigue, makes you more lazy to exercise, and causes fat to accumulate in the abdomen.

Hair loss

Sleep disorders cause hair loss. When you lack sleep, your body produces more cortisol - a stress hormone that leads to insufficient blood and oxygen being pumped to the scalp, causing hair follicles to weaken, hair to fall out a lot, leading to baldness.

Depression

In today’s era, insomnia seems to have become the “disease of the century”. According to research, every 3 people have trouble sleeping 1 day. Because they can’t sleep, they are almost immersed in negative thoughts, stress and those problems keep repeating in their heads.

If you can't get rid of those thoughts, then your mood will definitely not improve. This is also the first reason why you get depressed.

Muscle atrophy

Chronic sleep loss disrupts metabolism and causes loss of muscle mass. Lack of sleep reduces the rate of protein synthesis. Over time, this condition can lead to muscle atrophy in the arms and legs.

In addition to the problems encountered on the body, long-term lack of sleep also reduces immunity, increases the risk of flu, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, increases the risk of depression and many other chronic diseases.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adults need 8 hours of sleep per night to be healthy.

Increases a host of other health risks

A study found that lack of sleep is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, getting enough sleep helps maintain the immune system. People who sleep less than 7 hours a night are nearly three times more likely to catch a cold than those who get enough sleep.

Because sleep problems are more common in women, there may be particular risk factors in this group. The menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause can affect women's sleep quality.

How to deal with sleep deprivation

A short nap in the middle of the day can help make up for short-term sleep loss and help you feel more alert. If you don’t like napping, try meditating to get better sleep. You can also catch up on sleep on the weekends.

Everyone has different sleep needs. It’s worth doing some research and experimenting to see what works best for you. Keeping a sleep diary can help you gain a better understanding of your sleep habits. Sometimes, good sleep is as simple as sticking to a consistent bedtime routine.

In the evening, avoid looking at your phone screen before bed, practice relaxation or mindfulness to help you relax, and try not to eat too late, especially sweets. During the day, you can exercise and limit caffeine in the late afternoon.

Also, don't forget that indoor environmental factors like noise, temperature, light, and air quality can all affect sleep quality.

You can install blackout curtains, add rugs and curtains because soft materials absorb sound, helping to reduce echoes in the space. Some studies show that the shape, size and quality of pillows can affect sleep.

Change your bedding, invest in a better pillow that suits your body type or favorite sleeping position.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/moi-dem-ngu-it-hon-6-gio-co-gay-hai-cho-suc-khoe.html